The Godspells
To see the previous chapter, see: Enter the Cocytus Week-long Victory Cheering erupted throughout the hall. It had been a full week, and the FRFH had not ceased celebrating the win, or Complete Domination as Mithra phrased it that Silas had earned himself. With drunken glee, Mirone roughly ruffled Silas' hair and slurred out "Buddy...I thought that you were dead but uhh..." Falling down, he fell asleep before he could finish his sentence. Silas sighed and walked outside into the cool night air. Breathing out a small fog, he turned around as footsteps approached him. "How you feeling?" Mithra asked, hands in her pocket. Silas gave a weak smile and replied "A bit tired. I didn't think I would be fighting without my lance and all". Smiling sympathetically, Mithra comically taunted "Aww...poor Silas, didn't get to use his special magic lance". As Silas snorted in annoyance, Mithra shuffled her feet before saying "You know Silas umm...well...after I saw you win, I guess I feel like saying I think I really really..." Silas raised his eyebrows as Mithra stuttered. "Silas, what I'm trying to say is that I really li-" Cheering erupted through the hall again. Even in the dim lighting Silas could see Mithra was gritting her teeth in annoyance. As amused as he was at this rapid shut-down, he decided to leave it alone afterall; he really didn't feel like taking another of Mithra's random beatings. Casually yawning, Silas suggested "You know, we should go to a quieter place, I've sort of got a headache and I want to be able to see the next match". Not replying, just nodding her head, Mithra followed as Silas turned around and lead the way to one of Kusamura's bars, trying his best not to spill out his laughter. The Godspells To Silas, the bar in Kusamura wasn't all that different from the one in FRFH. Loud sounds, bright lights, the smell of alcohol and sweat in the air, the only difference was that these peopple were supposed to be refined and noble, not splattered and half naked...or for the case of some people, completely naked. Grimacing, Silas held Mithra's hand and led her to an empty booth. Sighing, he rubbed his forehead as beside of him, Mithra nervously fidgeted with her hands. Noticing her discomfort, Silas asked "What's up?" "This place smells weird" "So did the other one" "...good point" Despite being just a table's width apart, the silence wedged the two apart. They were close friends however, tonight was no good, Silas was just far too exahusted. Absentmindedly scratching his head, Silas asked "you wanna head back? I'm a little tired and all..." Mithra opened her mouth but instead another female voice came out "Oh! Serum! Look at that! It's the guy in the tournament last week!" Silas started chuckling. He could only imagine Mithra's irratation at getting interrupted twice within the same hour. Turning around, he was met with two people who, despite being in the middle of the crowd, stood out brighter than a corpse in a birthday party. The first was somebody who Silas himself was unsure of; whether the person has a he or a she. The person had black hair, long enough to extend past his shoulders, dressed in a red robe with two blades at his hip. The second person was definetely a she. Red hair, and a dress seemingly covered in metal, the only strange thing was her right eye... "Hey, hey, hey, hey, are you Silas?" The red head asked. Taken abit back, he replied "Yeah that's me...why?" "Welllll I'm Florence and I saw your fight and I was all like 'wwwwooaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh' and then you did that crazy flip and I went to Serum and I was all like "Did you see that? I bet you can't do anything like that with your Spe-" "Florence, I think that's enough" The other person called out. Assuming from their voice, Silas quickly judged the person next to Florence was a guy...pehaps called Serum. "Oh, ok Serum. Anyways, I was wondering, can I have your autograph?" From behind him Mithra clicked her tongue in annoyance. Silas smirked at her anitcs and was about to apologize and decline the offer when Florence blurted out "Also, Serum says that he rreeeaaallllyyy wants to spar with you". The man next to Florence immediately payed attention to what Florence said. Leaning over, in a not so hushed whisper "Florence, you said you would keep quiet about that" "But Seerrruuummmm, if you ambushed him when he was tired, it'd be a silly fight" Raising an eyebrow, Silas yawned before interrupting their discussion "Yeah uhh..sorry guys but I'm feeling pretty tired tonight. Could we do it tomorrow? You know, after the weekly matches?" Both people turned to face Silas. About to retort, Mithra cleared her throat "Ahem...I think it's about time that we all called it a day otherwise, we may actually miss the match tomorrow and...I was actually quite looking forward to it." Despite having a band over her eyes, Mithra nonethless still managed to send chills down Serum's spine. Unsure, Serum looked to Florence who in turn, just shrugged her shoulders. "Well...if that's what you want then I don't see any problems with waiting until tomorrow" Giving a faint smile, Silas concluded "So it's settled then? We'll have our little spar after the match" Clicking his tongue, Serum turned away and walked out of the bar. Florence quickly followed suit. Some time went by before Mithra asked "You uhh...should we get back now?" "Yeah sure, it's about time anyway" Must be a Cat person The moon was well out in the night sky, a beam in the pitch darkness. Although it was midnight, there were still several people drunk with glee at the arrival of the match between another two districts. There were a few unconcious people scattered here and there, even fewer people still standing. However, out of all these, there was one person. Covered in a brown, tattered cloak, he strided through the shadows, navigating through the sea of drunk warriors, careful so as to not wake any of them. Above him, to his right, a shadow boldly walked on the roof, unaware that it's shadow could be seen by the figure. Leaping into the sky, the moon brilliantly shone to reveal the silhouette of a cat in a witch's hat. With it's natural nimbleness, it landed from the roof onto the figure's shoulder. In mere seconds, it had infiltrated the cloak, now snugly resting against the figure's neck. Putting his hand up to his shoulder, the figure scratched the cat's chin and asked "So...what now?" Purring, the cat replied in a feminine voice "Well, for now let's just go to the Navarina Tournament. I'm sure that FRFH boy would be there in the morning" It stopped purring for a moment and inquired "Just curious though but, why are you so interested in that kid?" Even in the darkness an old man would be able to make out the figure's vicious grin. "Well...I guess he's just different from everybody I've met. Is that a good enough excuse for you?" Resuming it's purring, the cat mumbled "Well...I guess it's not really my buisness who you beat up but, just make sure you don't kill this guy. We're still looking for Simon and the last thing we need is a rumour spreading that you've killed a guy without using any magic. We want to '''lure' him, not scare him away"'' Snorting at the prospect of scaring an old rival into hiding, the figure chuckled and replied "Pfft, don't worry, I'm not gonna kill him. I just want to see how strong he is..." "Sure....whatever you say Dante" Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Dante proceeded to turn left into an alleyway. Bending his legs, he jumped onto a wall, before proceeding to wall jump to the roof. Standing on the roof of a seemingly decript building, Dante turned his head to look in the direction of the Regalia's Axis. Biting his lip, Dante sighed before asking his companion "Let's get a move on then" "Aye aye cap'n" The cat mocked before jumping out of the cloak. Taking a steady stance, they both pounced, leaping across the several rooves that seperated them from the Ace of FRFH. Navarina Tournaments: Day 2 The sun rose up and yet...there was no fanfare. People from all over Pilse Navarina rushed to the Regalia's Axis, keen on obtaining a seat in the arena, despite the fact that they would not be staying there for long. As the Aces arrived at the arena, there was still a lack of fanfare in the air...giving the air a solemn feeling as if the whole citadel was attending a funeral. Taking his time walking up the steps to the participant's viewing stage, a voice called out "Hey, mercenary boy!". Raising his eyebrow, Silas turned around to see a man in a purple robe running up the stairs towards him. Taking his time, Silas frowned as he struggled to recall the man's name. Finally reaching him, the purple robed man asked "How you doing?" "oh...uh...I'm doing fine...how are you doing?" Taken aback by Silas' rather vague answer, the man simply replied "I'm doing great! So uhh...who do you think's going to fight today? I heard that they changed the rules so that kills are now included" "Woah really? How'd you find that out?" The man laughed and joked "Ha! Who do you think I am?" Silas gave a fake smile before pretending to laugh at the man's joke. However, the man looked dead straight at Silas before asking "...you do remember me right?" "Uhh...I may have hit my head during the fight..." Sighing, he looked at Silas before re-introducing himself "Ok, remember this: I'm Sauta from Kusamura. I'm the guy that can easily get information from the officials...which now that I think about it, I should probably give you a heads up" Silas looked around before saying "You know...I think they're about to call the match out so talk to me while we're walking alright?". Sauta fell into step with Silas as he started "Yeah anyways, the officials told me this. They're gonna tell everybody else as well but I'll give you the warning first. Apparentely the musicians of the Navarina Tournament were slaughtered last night" Raising an eyebrow, Silas asked "Slaughtered?" "Their bodies were mangled when the officials found them, and they were lying in so much blood that, when they opened the door, blood actually washed out into the corridors" Silas scrunched his nose at the details of their deaths. Scratching his head, he then asked "So...why are you telling me this exactly?" They both stopped. Just a right turn and then they would be at the participant's stage. Sauta, leaning in closer, whispered "Because, they suspect that somebody from Remulous did it". Now even more curious, Silas opened his mouth and asked "Wait...who's they and-" Cheering erupted from outside as Sauta ignored Silas and walked onto the stage. Sighing, Silas followed suit and was met with a larger crowd than last week cheering at his arrival. As he stood at the end of the line, he finished his sentence in his mind "Why do they suspect that somebody from Remulous did it?" ---- From within the stands, the figure in the brown cloak stood at the very edge of the stands. From beneath his cloak the cat whispered "Hey...there's that FRFH Ace...what are you going to do?" Not responding, Dante simply continued staring at the FRFH's Ace. Frowning, the cat on Dante's shoulder asked "Why didn't you tell the officials that you saw the guy kill the musicians?" Once again staying quiet, Dante simply whispered "Because, he's mine" ---- "WELCOME CITIZENS, WARRIORS AND PARTICIPANTS OF THE NAVARINA TOURNAMENT!" At the sound of the booming voice from last week, nearly everybody in the stands started cheering, the exceptions being a few people who had a hangover and people who were simply brooding such as Dante. "AS YOU MAY HAVE HOPED FOR QUITE SOME TIME, THE SECOND MATCH OF THE NAVARINA TOURNAMENTS WILL TAKE PLACE IN JUST A FEW MINUTES HOWEVER, BEFORE WE COMMENCE THE TOURNAMENT, WE WOULD LIKE TO ANNOUNCE SOMETHING" The crowd quickly silenced as the voice announced something. Even the Aces on stage were particularly surprised: "ANY MURDERS OUTSIDE OF THE NAVARINA TOURNAMENTS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED" "THE REASON WHY WE ARE ANNOUNCING SUCH A THING IS BECAUSE, LAST NIGHT OUR FAITHFUL MUSICIANS FOR HIRE WERE FOUND SLAUGHTERED IN THEIR SLEEP. BE AWARE, WHEN WE DO FIND YOU, YOU SHALL MEET NO TRIAL WHAT SO EVER. ANYWAYS, SINCE THAT ANNOUNCEMENT HAS BEEN DECLARED, LET US CONTINUE ONTO OUR WEEKLY COURSE OF EVENTS" The crowd started to mutter. Whoever the voice was had just announced that a bunch of people had died and yet, they were already more than prepared to proceed with the match. Next to him, the Ace of Remulous started chuckling. About to inquire what was so funny, Sauta beat him to it. "Oi, Remulous, what do you find so funny?". Turning his head, the Remulous Ace replied "I wonder...well, if you fight me then I guess you'll find out won't you?" Sighing, Sauta turned back to face the front. The voice once again boomed out "NOW THEN, WE SHALL PROCEED WITH THE DRAWINGS OF THE SECOND MATCH. AS A REMINDER, MR. SILAS COCYTUS OF FRFH HAS ALREADY AQUIRED A SPOT IN THE FINALS. HOWEVER, IF THE NEXT MATCH OR THE ONE AFTER IS DEEMED TO BE MUCH MORE IMPRESSIVE, THEN WE SHALL AWARD THE PARTICIPANT THE FINALS ALLOCATION, MOVING FRFH BACK TO THE SEMI'S." Biting his lip, Silas didn't say anything. Shuffling could be heard from the voice and soon enough, the voice boomed out once more "WE HAVE DECIDED WHO SHALL BE TODAY'S PARTICIPANTS. WILL THE FOLLOWING ACES PLEASE STEP FORWARD. THE ACE OF REMULOUS" At this, perhaps more than half of the crowd started cheering. The crowd waited with bated breath as the voice began once more. " THE SECOND PARTICIPANT OF THE NAVARINA TOURNAMENT SHALL BE....". Silas leaned over and said, "Good luck buddy" Confused, Sauta asked "Why're you wishing me good luck?" "Chances are that they're going to make the matches as exciting as possible. An Asassin against a Mercenary, I bet you there's going to be Samurai against a Gladiator" "Pfft, yeah right" THE ACE OF KUSAMURA". Both Aces stopped laughing as they realized that Silas' prediction was true. Looking to their left, they saw the Gladiator flexing his massive biceps at the crowd, all the while holding his greatsword in his mouth. The only thought that went through their minds was "Yup, Kusamura's screwed". Day 2: Gladiator vs Samurai Without hesitation, the gladiator from Remulous jumped down from the stage, landing several meters down ontot he ground. The spot at which he landed was severely marked, leaving a ridiculously large indent. Looking up, he barked out "Ha! Come on purple boy, come down!" Looking towards Sauta, Silas muttered "Hey...normally I would tell you to jump down there but I'm getting a really bad vibe from that guy...what are you gonna do?" Sauta smiled before saying "No worries, I wouldn't have it any other way. It'll give me plenty of time to question this guy" Leaping down, he drew out his sword and stood in a stance, left foot forward, his blade held at an angle on his left side. ARE BOTH DISTRICTS PREPARED FOR THE FOLLOWING MATCH? The gladiator drew out his blade, a golden steel, and casually leaned it against his shoulder. Smirking, he shouted out "Buddy, what's your name?" "Sauta, what's yours?" "Vilx, let's have a fair fight shall we?" Sauta was taken back abit but nonetheless agreed "Yeah sure" THE BATTLE SHALL NOW COMMENCE Vilx ran at Sauta, sword raised above his head. Lifting his balde up, Sauta prepared to defend from the frontal assault...before getting kicked in the ribs. Flying backwards, he crashed into the arena's wall and continued to lay down. Vilx started cackling "Ha! Did you really think I would fight on even terms against a samurai?" From above, Silas frowned at the development. During his years in Pilse Navarina, he had heard about how the people of Kusamura fought with and only with honor...so what was Sauta supposed to do? From the rubble, Sauta slowly dragged himself up. Despite the heavy kick he recieved mere moments ago, there didn't seem to be any apparent damage. Dusting himself off, Sauta picked up his sword and asked "Last night, several people were found murdered...their bodies were found with several deep gashes which we suspect came from a blade" Vilx merely snorted in laughter. Cocking his head, Suata asked "Do you know any further details about it? Such as...who is the culprit?" Looking straight at Sauta, Vilx asked "What...you think that I'm responsible for that? I didn't even know of it until just a few minutes ago" "Then what did you find so amusing about their deaths?" "Oh nothing...just that I thought that the musicians must have been ridiculously weak to have been ambushed" Gritting his teeth in anger, the samurai asked "...Did you know that...most of the musicians were from your district?" "Oh? Well I guess that just means that they were too weak then" Roaring in anger, Sauta ran at Vilx. Perhaps just a second before they clashed, he jumped up and lashed out at Vilx with his blade. Sheathing it, Sauta drew it out again with immense speed, with the gladiator barely dodging it. A frenzy of rabid sword strikes soon followed after, with Vilx either dodging or clashing with them. It came to a point where it was soon a duel in the exact center of the arena. With a continued clashing of blades, Vilx retreated, asking "Why would you care if somebody from our district dies?" Ducking down, he jabbed his blade forward, only to have it deflected away from his body, leaving him wide open. Sauta drove in, and with both hands on the blade, lunged forwards, attempting to drive his blade into the gladiator's chest. However, just before it could touch the armour, Vilx grabbed the blade barehanded, ignoring the vicious cut he was recieving. Smirking, he bashed Sauta's head with the pommel, then grabbed Suata's arm, throwing him into the other side of the arena. Silas winced at the sight before him. With Sauta being stubborn, using only his blade, there was absolutely no way that he could win. Grimacing, Silas kept his mouth shut as he continued looking at the one sided beating before him. To his right were the knight and the archer...Silas was honestly interested in how their match would come out, but suspected that the knight would easily win. Looking back at the ongoing fight, he saw Vilx striding over to where Sauta was. Waving his blade in a dangerous manner, Vilx approached the fallen samurai with an unnatural sense of calmness. He smirked as his opponent struggled to push himself further away from the gladiator. Running up, Vilx jumped and then heavily landed on top of Sauta. A sickening crunch was heard as Sauta gave out a vicious scream. With his last remaining breath, he picked up his blade and attempted to cut at the gladiator...only for the blade to suddenly drop from his grip. Blood fell down in copious amounts as the crowd realized that Sauta's hand had been cleanly sliced off. Roaring, Sauta reached to his side with his left hand. Above him, the Gladiator shifted his grip on the blade so he now held it in a backhanded grip. Grabbing his blade, the samurai once again sliced at Vilx. Without a breath's hesitation, Vilx pointed the blade at his opponent's forehead and brought it down. The world seemed to pause...and then Sauta's blade fell from his grip. ---- Chapter 3: The Felled Pride ---- Thanks to Leengard Ustan for reading over the story and mentioning that I worded somethings wrong :D Category:NowiePark Category:The Tale of Team Moon Drop